behike from cnn

[Ken Gargett]

Cigar aficionados scramble for Cuba's most expensive smoke

By Thair Shaikh, CNNcnnAuthor = "By Thair Shaikh, CNN"; if(location.hostname.indexOf( 'edition.' ) > -1) {document.write('March 26, 2010 -- Updated 1425 GMT (2225 HKT)');} else {document.write('March 26, 2010 10:25 a.m. EDT');}March 26, 2010 10:25 a.m. EDTvar clickExpire = "-1";var cnnGalleryConfig = (location.hostname.indexOf('edition.') > -1) ? 'intl' : 'www';var params = {};var attributes = {};var flashvars = {};params.wmode = "transparent";params.allowscriptaccess="always";flashvars.galleryUrl = '/interactive/2010/03/world/gallery.cohiba.behike.cigar/flashxml/index.xml';flashvars.configUrl = "http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/ssi/"+cnnGalleryConfig+"/misc/3.0/omni/config.xml";flashvars.emailHandler = "onEmailClicked";flashvars.pageType = "story";flashvars.pageURL=window.location.pathname+"&section=";if (swfobject.hasFlashPlayerVersion("8")) {swfobject.embedSWF("http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/swf/3.0/story/imagegallery.swf", "CNN_photoGallery", "640", "436", "8.0.0", false, flashvars, params, attributes);} else if ( html5Check ) {CNN_SlideShowManager.register( 'CNN_photoGallery', flashvars.galleryUrl );} else {$('CNN_photoGallery').update('<a href="http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/" target="_blank">');}STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• A rare leaf called the "medio tiempo" is used in its blend, says Habanos SA
  
• "This is perfection in a Cuban cigar," Mitchell Orchant
  
• Demand will outstrip supply, inflating prices, say cigar experts
  
• Cohiba is the flagship brand of Cuban cigars and was created in 1966 for Fidel Castro
  

(CNN) -- It is being lauded by aficionados as the finest cigar ever to come out of a country already famed for producing the best cigars in the world.

Such is the anticipation surrounding the Cohiba Behike cigar when it goes on sale in mid-June that experts are warning demand will far outstrip supply, creating a lucrative black market for the stogies.

Rarely has such excitement surrounded the launch of a cigar, say connoisseurs in the UK and the U.S., but why? Is the Behike really that good or is this just hype?

The Behike was officially launched in Havana in February with the promise of "setting a new standard among smokers worldwide," according to Habanos SA, the worldwide distributor of Cuban cigars. It says supplies will be limited.

Ana Lopez, marketing director at Habanos SA in Havana, told CNN: "This is the most expensive line ever produced in Cohibas and we are expecting that it will be very well received."

"This is perfection in a Cuban cigar.

--Mitchell Orchant, cigar connoisseur Mitchell Orchant, a London-based cigar merchant and connoisseur, is one of the few people to have tried the Behike at its launch in Havana. He said he already has 1,000 people on his waiting list.

"This is perfection in a Cuban cigar... the Cubans have got every aspect of this cigar right - the brand, the size, the taste. And of course it's unique because a rare leaf is being used in its blend, the first time such a leaf has been used in a cigar.

"This will be a very collectible cigar, I already know people who are planning to lay [store] the Behike for 10 years. It will sell out very quickly and that will push prices up."

Simon Chase, a semi-retired director of the British cigar importers Hunters & Frankau, founded in 1790, said: "There is a particular type of rare leaf in the Behike... there is something in the blend that makes it very interesting, very special. I've been in the cigar business fo 30 years... and I would say that this will make a very serious bid to become the best cigar in the world."

Fact BoxCuba exported $360 million worth of cigars in 2009, according to Habanos SA, the worldwide distributor of Cuban cigars var cnnRelatedTopicKeys = []; RELATED TOPICS

• cnnRelatedTopicKeys.push('Havana'); Havana
  
• cnnRelatedTopicKeys.push('Cuba'); Cuba
  
• cnnRelatedTopicKeys.push('Fidel_Castro'); Fidel Castro
  

Chase, also an author and auctioneer who puts Cuban cigars under the hammer every year in Cuba for charity, often with the former president Fidel Castro present, also smoked the Behike at its launch in Havana.

"It had a rich savoury taste. It's not easy to produce a distinctive cigar in what is already the most prestigious brand [Cohiba] in the world," said Chase.

The rare leaf is a part of the tobacco plant called the medio tiempo, taken from the upper leaves of the plant, but which not every plant produces, making it rare.

There will be three Behike sizes which in the UK will sell at £25 ($36), £33 ($48) and £39 ($57) each respectively, according to Hunters & Frankau.

The U.S. economic trade embargo against Cuba means that Cohiba Behikes will not officially be exported to or officially be on sale in the U.S..

Cohiba is the flagship brand of Cuban cigars and was created in 1966 for Fidel Castro; they are made at the El Laguito factory near Havana, in an opulent mansion once owned by a sugar baron.

For years only heads of state and visiting diplomats were given Cohibas but in 1982 it went on sale in limited quantities.

Cohiba is an ancient Taino Indian word for the bunches of tobacco leaves that explorer Christopher Columbus first saw being smoked by the original inhabitants of Cuba, the earliest known form of the cigar.

[stargazer14]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/03/...igar/index.html

here's the link with photos if Kens cornucopia of text didnt work.

[Colt45]

here's the link with photos if Kens cornucopia of text didnt work.

he is the guru of all things technical...

[Colt45]

After reading the article, I have a few random thoughts, but I must preface that I have little interest in these cigars. They are beyond my means, but

I truly don't feel I'm missing out on anything. I also don't begrudge anybody who will buy and enjoy these cigars - I hope they meet pre-release hype.

Points for conversation purposes:

Setting a new standard - the proof is in the pudding. Consistency?

Collectible: are they baseball cards or cigars...... Smoke them.

Every aspect right: you can have the girth - another reason for personal non-interest.

Sell out quickly: they just may, but if I really wanted some Cohiba GRs, could I find them?

To be honest, in my opinion, the article stinks of salesmanship - would anyone really speak otherwise? I know this might all sound rather negative,

and I guess it is, but perhaps worse is I'm really starting not to care anymore. They may in fact be very good cigars, but I think I'd rather smoke

one of KGs pedestrian Hoyo des Dieux as shown in the recent video review.

More to the point, I think if I was lucky enough to have access to, and could choose a cigar from, some of the more well appointed humidors

around the world, I'd probably be looking for Bolivar or Partagas coronas, RA 898s, or a Sir Winston or Bolivar CG, or.......

[stargazer14]

"I know this might all sound rather negative,

and I guess it is, but perhaps worse is I'm really starting not to care anymore."

well, there are those that may follow a few of your thoughts Colt.

[mkz]

Collectible: are they baseball cards or cigars...... Smoke them.

[anacostiakat]

Nice plug for Mitchell.

[Freefallguy]

he is the guru of all things technical...

Albeit he clealy aspires to be a Zen master of HTML.

[thurmanmunson]

The wireless antenna on Ken's computer is a broomstick! Cut him some slack fella's!

[El Presidente]

I am not sure how they could be real collectors items as they will be general production. Perhaps first release ala 03 Siglo VI.

Cohiba Gran Reserva's (real ones) are unavailable in this country. We won't be seeing any more. No matter which way you look at it...successful release.

Most of the interview was pap. what one has come to expect from BBC and CNN.

[Colt45]

Cohiba Gran Reserva's (real ones) are unavailable in this country. We won't be seeing any more. No matter which way you look at it...successful release.

I make my way to my subterranean vault. Walls of reinforced concrete, ten feet thick, with a four foot thick door of solid steel. Inner workings

and components of hardened steel. Retinal and fingerprint scans allow me access to the electronic combination keypad. I input the proper code,

turn the door wheel constructed of unobtanium, and the massive door slowly swings open on it's hinges.

There in the center of the vault under diffused lighting, is an alter constructed of the rarest endangered rain forest mahogany. The top is covered

with blue whale skin, while the rest of the alter is inlaid with African ebony and elephant ivory, and encrusted with the purest blood diamonds.

Centered on top of the alter is my box of Cohiba Siglo VI Gran Reserva. I don my virgin Egyptian cotton gloves and undo the clasp, slowly raising

the lid. A blinding golden glow, the sounding of trumpets, a choir of angels raise their voices as one in a nearly unbearable crescendo!

Trembling, I carefully remove one of the as of yet untouched cigars from it's resting place, cradling it in my palms as if it were a newborn babe,

the nearly flawless wrapper glistening in the diffused light.

In a moment of madness, I clip the cap with a platinum cutter. The jeweled unicorn horn lighter springs to life. Slowly, painstakingly, I toast the

foot of the cigar, laughing all the while as only a madman is capable - am I really doing this? In what seems an eternity, I toast and rotate,

rotate and toast, until this cigar, this jewel, this combination of natural and human perfection comes to life.

I wait. Wait until the foot is completely toasted. I wait, until the foot is uniformly white. I wait some more, until fully a half inch has been consumed.

Slowly, apprehensively..... longingly, I finally bring this delicacy, this wonder of nature's grace and human hands, to my trembling lips. Blind to any

surrounding visions, deaf to any surrounding sound, I take the first voluptuous, spine tingling draw..........

DAMNIT, PLUGGED!!

Post Script: though it pains me to post a disclaimer - I'm just having a bit of fun.

[aes8]

Great Post

[Stalebread]

. . . deaf to any surrounding sound, I take the first voluptuous, spine tingling draw..........

DAMNIT, PLUGGED!!

. . .

Good one, Colt.

[Stalebread]

. . .

Cohiba Gran Reserva's (real ones) are unavailable in this country. . . .

But they (real ones) are still available elsewhere, no? If someone really wanted to find them.

Doesn't mean they were/are not successful, just that they are still out there.

[El Presidente]

But they (real ones) are still available elsewhere, no? If someone really wanted to find them.

Doesn't mean they were/are not successful, just that they are still out there.

They certainly are available for a price (which has not plummeted) as far as I am aware (real ones).

The only point I was trying to make is that for HSA and dealers/retailers worldwide it was a successful commercial release. There has been significant followup demand from people who have worked through (or are working through) their existing boxes. It is good to see so many members actually smoking them as a regular treat as opposed to laying them down as part of a collection.

[LiLo]

I am not sure how they could be real collectors items as they will be general production. Perhaps first release ala 03 Siglo VI.

Cohiba Gran Reserva's (real ones) are unavailable in this country. We won't be seeing any more. No matter which way you look at it...successful release.

Most of the interview was pap. what one has come to expect from BBC and CNN.

Even though they are considered regular production isn't there only going to be 5,000 of each vitola made a year??? i thought i heard that somewhere. maybe i am wrong.

[finecigar]

Thanks for the post Ken. I am very excited for this cigar...

Can't wait to try-

I have a question to the forum though, which size would be the most delicious and complex- if some have tried it already?

[mkz]

Superb post Colt!!

[Ryan]

Even though they are considered regular production isn't there only going to be 5,000 of each vitola made a year??? i thought i heard that somewhere. maybe i am wrong.

200,000 of each size every year was what Arnadlo Ovalles told us at El Laguito last month.

Plenty to go around.

[edameff]

I make my way to my subterranean vault. Walls of reinforced concrete, ten feet thick, with a four foot thick door of solid steel. Inner workings

and components of hardened steel. Retinal and fingerprint scans allow me access to the electronic combination keypad. I input the proper code,

turn the door wheel constructed of unobtanium, and the massive door slowly swings open on it's hinges.

There in the center of the vault under diffused lighting, is an alter constructed of the rarest endangered rain forest mahogany. The top is covered

with blue whale skin, while the rest of the alter is inlaid with African ebony and elephant ivory, and encrusted with the purest blood diamonds.

Centered on top of the alter is my box of Cohiba Siglo VI Gran Reserva. I don my virgin Egyptian cotton gloves and undo the clasp, slowly raising

the lid. A blinding golden glow, the sounding of trumpets, a choir of angels raise their voices as one in a nearly unbearable crescendo!

Trembling, I carefully remove one of the as of yet untouched cigars from it's resting place, cradling it in my palms as if it were a newborn babe,

the nearly flawless wrapper glistening in the diffused light.

In a moment of madness, I clip the cap with a platinum cutter. The jeweled unicorn horn lighter springs to life. Slowly, painstakingly, I toast the

foot of the cigar, laughing all the while as only a madman is capable - am I really doing this? In what seems an eternity, I toast and rotate,

rotate and toast, until this cigar, this jewel, this combination of natural and human perfection comes to life.

I wait. Wait until the foot is completely toasted. I wait, until the foot is uniformly white. I wait some more, until fully a half inch has been consumed.

Slowly, apprehensively..... longingly, I finally bring this delicacy, this wonder of nature's grace and human hands, to my trembling lips. Blind to any

surrounding visions, deaf to any surrounding sound, I take the first voluptuous, spine tingling draw..........

DAMNIT, PLUGGED!!

Post Script: though it pains me to post a disclaimer - I'm just having a bit of fun.

Colt, you are absolutely slaying me, I have tears rolling down my face!!! My 20th Wedding Anniversary is in May and I was Finally going to break out a Gran Reserva to celebrate. Now I think I will just have a Cohiba - Seleccion Reserva instead, at least I KNOW they smoke great!! You may have just saved my wife from witnessing my inability to perform my husbandly duties that night because of depression from the plug!!

[Colt45]

My 20th Wedding Anniversary is in May and I was Finally going to break out a Gran Reserva to celebrate......

Doc, congrats on the anniversary. I'm coming up on fifteen years, and when I think about it, it doesn't seem possible. You should by all means

smoke a CGR if that's what you'd like, but perhaps smoking a cigar you've already had and know you'll enjoy might help prevent a let down, or

at least reduce the pressure for all to "produce"! I'm not a licensed marital advisor like our humble host purports to be, but I'm happy to help.

As I mentioned, I'm truly just goofing around about the cigars - I hope they all are what our members hope them to be, and I'm also just trying to

do my part to help Ayala get back into the good graces of HSA. With that in mind......

Behold my Behike! Marvel at it's magnificent tumescence! Revel in it's glorious jaw stretching, tonsil tickling girth!

Behike - it'll make you feel like a man.

[LiLo]

200,000 of each size every year was what Arnadlo Ovalles told us at El Laguito last month.

Plenty to go around.

Nice, thanks for the info!